Instant Reaction: Flames tame the Devils in New Jersey

Later in the period, the Flames got some insurance. On a lengthy cycle sequence, Kevin Bahl fired the puck towards the net and it ricocheted off a Devils’ stick and past Markstrom to give the Flames a 2-0 lead.

The Devils got on the board late in the first period, though. Hunter Brzustewicz had a puck slide off his stick in the defensive zone. The Devils grabbed the loose puck, leading to a Maksim Tsyplakov wrister that beat Dustin Wolf to cut Calgary’s lead to 2-1.

First period shots were 10-8 Devils.

The Flames increased their lead to 3-1 early in the second period with a shorthanded goal from Beecher. The Devils were a bit too casual with drop-passes in the neutral zone, so Beecher sped in, stole the puck and then buried his own rebound.

The Devils scored later on the same power play, though, as Simon Nemec cashed in with a rebound shot on the heels of a great Luke Hughes rush play that created chaos in the Flames’ zone. That cut the lead to 3-2.

But the Flames responded back with a really nice breakout sequence, leading to a two-on-one, ending with Ryan Strome setting up Yegor Sharangovich, and Sharangovich beating Markstrom to make it 4-2.

Second period shots were 13-9 Flames.

The Flames scored early in the third period. Joel Farabee made a nice pass in the neutral zone that sent Mikael Backlund into the Devils’ zone with speed. Backlund fired the puck past Markstrom to make it 5-2 Flames.

Jack Hughes scored a nice goal, getting a pass with speed and firing a lot shot past Wolf to cut the Flames’ lead to 5-3.

(Luke) Hughes scored a late one on a Devils’ power play, with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, to cut the lead to 5-4.

But it was too little, too late, and the Flames held on for a 5-4 win.

Why the Flames won

The Flames were a little clunky defensively against the Capitals and Rangers. They were much better in this game, playing smart, structured hockey and finding ways to be opportunistic with scoring chances. A lot of their goals came off lapses by New Jersey, and the Flames were able to take advantage.

Red Warrior

John Beecher scored twice to raise his goal total as a Flame to three!

Turning point

We’ll go with Mikael Backlund’s game winner. You knew that the Devils were gonna press in the third period, so getting a bit of insurance early in the frame was huge.

This and that

Dustin Wolf started in net.

Mikael Backlund’s goal was his 229th as a Flame, tying him with Kent Nilsson for fifth all-time, and it was also his 600th point with the Flames.

After Burner

Join Cami Kepke and myself right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (26-32-7) return to action on Saturday night against the New York Islanders.